Sensible Nutrition vs Complicated

First phase--Nutrition Sense I happened to catch a Dr. Oz show with the scientific researcher, Gary Taubes and while they both had a lot of good points, even though they mostly disagreed, they missed a few important points that I would like to address. I realize, of course, that I am not a doctor, but I am a retired Respiratory Therapist and a Holistic Nutritionist, so I have backgrounds in both the Medical field, and the Nutrition field, and as much as possible in the past I combined them both. My dissertations for both fields of study were involving either one or the other. As a Respiratory Therapist I could not just do RT without getting to know a lot from the Nurses and the Doctors I worked with. As a Holistic Nutritionist I also was able to teach a lot to my patients, as well as, the Nurses and Doctors I worked with,—at least to those who were open to it. So, all that said, I have personally waffled between nutritional theories and ideas, and with the ever changing research, and theories to support said research, it is very difficult, at best, to stay perfectly informed or updated on the latest. I used to advocate a vegetarian lifestyle, modified to meet the persons own level of understanding and capability, because I found that hitting them with a drastic change in their eating lifestyle completely threw them and discouraged them, unless, of course, there was a serious illness. Diets come and go as quickly as the popularity of stars and movies and while one may help you lose weight and become healthier, it will not last unless it is sensible and realistic for the persons lifestyle, their personality, and their finances. Gary Taubes advocates a strict protein diet, including fats and some vegetables. I would love to know his cholesterol readings, but also I would like to see his blood tests for his kidney function. There is a reason they called Gout “the rich man's diesease”!! I know from first hand experience, in my Mother's problems with Gout, that too much protein can overload the already hardworking kidneys. I do not believe eggs cause cholesterol problems or anything else, but all other proteins could be a dangerous overload on all the organs, as well as, the other functions of the body. One thing I feel was rather erroneous was the response from Dr Oz, to having eaten, for just 24 hours, Gary Taubes particular diet. Well, not to mention the fact that he had not eaten like that for we don't know how long, and suddenly he was assaulting his body with all those proteins, no wonder he had adverse reactions! Our bodies usually adapt incredibly well, but making a sudden change, like that, just as with any area of life, will certainly cause a rebellion, of sorts! So, the drama queen act did not suit Dr. Oz. Gary Taubes seemed to be fumbling with his words and was not allowed to speak very much, but the point is, neither one of them was completely right or wrong. Although, admittedly, I would side with Dr. Oz's diet rather than Gary Taubes, because I do not believe we are total carnivores—and I, too, would like to know about Taubes' bowel movements!! I also, do not believe we are total vegetarians, or at least, all of us. That leads to another aspect, I believe was missed. I believe our ancestry can play a major role in how or what we eat and how it affects us. Those of us who have say, Scandinavian or German ancestry might be more inclined to fish and dairy, while those in the desert or African countries, might have a problem with dairy, and mostly rely on meat they can raise or what vegetables they might grow. Just an observation. Then we have the Blood Type diet, which is a little closer to the ancestry one I have pondered, but we need more research on the latter. I also suspect that weather plays a factor in what we eat and when. From the experience, of having lived in Colorado for about 22 years, I realized as a vegetarian that when winter rolled around for about 6 months, I had begun feeling the need for more substantial food and that many of my vegetarian friends were going through the same rumblings. And that now these same friends are no longer strict vegetarians. We not only had 6 months of cold, snowy winter, but we were also living at 7200 feet, with very little humidity in the air. So, in summer I began eating lighter meals, mostly vegetarian and in winter when I wanted to stoke my stove, I ate a little bit of red meat (organic), once in awhile and chicken, fish or turkey, periodically. It felt good and did not disturb my system. When I lived in Texas, doing nutritional counseling, I once had a woman client, who was Pentecostal and who was secretly coming to see me for weight loss. Her husband demanded red meat with every meal and all the accoutrement that went with it.
They raised their own beef, which at least made it safer for them, but she was very uncomfortable with eating that much meat and so I counseled her on how she could pare down. It was not easy for her, to say the least, but she was willing to give it a chance. I do not know what the end result was, because like I mentioned she was “secretly” seeking help. Her husband was a farmer so he probably worked off any excess weight, but though she worked hard as well, it was not the type of exercise she needed. All that said, the type of climate, such as East Texas, one lives in almost always demands a certain type of food, but if one is stubborn and refuses to eat what is required for whatever climate, then problems can arise. Also, our ancestry may dictate what climate we settle in, therefore the type of food we may require. Another point I want to address. Years ago we were taught, or shall I say brainwashed, to believe in the information the meat, dairy and poultry industries proffered. Then somebody started doing research and found that there were health problems associated with this diet, so, “they”, whomever “they” might be, decided we needed to alter our diets for optimum health. Now, I have not researched how many “diets” there have been over the years, but suffice it to say there have been and still are, many, and everyone of them purportedly has the research to back them up. On the opposite side of the usual meat and potatoes diet is the vegetarian diet, which sounded good until those same somebodies started doing research and recently have decided the vegetarian diet, which here in the U.S. is high in soy products, causes problems. Also, stating that the Asian's don't really eat as much soy as first thought, and that the problem with soy is that too much can cause hormonal imbalances, when a few years ago it was believed it helped with menopausal symptoms! So, now we have the Soy industry proferring their research and beliefs, but here again, with the advent of the Weston A. Price Foundation, in recent years, we are back to meat and potatoes, but environmentally grown and organic or grass fed!! In the spaces in between we have the high protein diets, the low carb diets and the sugar index diets and the Gluten free diets. Remember the old adage of “Moderation in all things?” Well, after all these years studying and going back and forth on the whole nutrition thing, feeling fraught when asked how I felt about certain diets or what I would recommend, I have finally decided on what I would do, which is moderation—simple moderation. A little meat, fish or chicken, a little soy, lots of veggies, some fruit, whole grains, nuts, etc. I have to qualify this also with paying attention to what our bodies tell us--other than the sugar cravings, of course! Health food nuts, as I have been and many others have been called, are considered fanatics, and granted there are fanatics in every facet of life, but fanaticism in any arena is basically an addiction. As much as I have to admire my grandmother's favorite exercise guru and health food nut, Jack La Lane, and not to disparage him at all, he was a fanatic.